German business confidence rises in March: Ifo

German business confidence rose to its highest level in eight months in March, as optimism continues to grow about the outlook for Europe's biggest economy, the Ifo economic institute said Wednesday.

The Ifo institute's closely watched business climate index rose to 107.9 points this month, its highest level since July 2014, the think tank said in a statement.

It was the fifth consecutive monthly increase and was better than analysts had been expecting.

"Companies were more satisfied with their current business situation. They also expressed far greater optimism about future business developments," said Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn. "The German economy is continuing to expand."

Ifo calculates its headline index on the basis of companies' assessments of current business and the outlook for the next six months.

The sub-index measuring current business rose to 112.0 points from 111.3 points, while the outlook sub-index increased by 1.4 points to 103.9 points, the institute said.